Round Robin, a monthly writing promptThis month’s Round Robin is: Why do I write or feel compelled to write even through the difficult parts?

This is like asking someone why they breathe. LOL

Getting the story out of my head and into the physical world is as necessary as breathing for me. If I don’t, very bad things happen. Well, not as bad as asphyxiation, of course, but my characters will haunt me until I finish it. They visit me in my dreams, wake me up in the middle of the night with awesome scenes, distract me from important conversations, and, of course, the best ideas come in the shower or the car when I can’t do anything about it. (shaking fist at my muse and the characters)

compelled to write, shower

A little eye candy

With my current WIP Snow Spirits, it’s been in fits and spurts. A few weeks ago, I was stuck. I couldn’t move forward but my characters were bombarding me with demands to continue, but, while I’m a pantser, I have to write in a linear fashion. Some people can jump all over the place, writing a scene several chapters ahead, or even write the ending before they begin. I can’t. I have to go from one scene to the next. So, when I wrote a scene that jumped the story ahead of what the characters thought it needed to be, I was stuck . . . for days.

compelled to write

More eye candy because I couldn’t resist

Then, one day, as I stared at the flashing cursor, it hit me. I couldn’t move forward because I had to go back and add in a scene.

You’d think my characters would be more forthcoming about this rather than letting me stare at the screen for a few days.

Nope. I think they like to cause me pain and frustration. LOL

So, yes, I feel compelled to write, even when I’m not in the mood, even when I have chores to complete (actually, chores are great for procrastination—grin), even when sleep calls.

How about you? Are you an author? Do you feel compelled to write?

If you enjoyed this topic, find out what others in this month’s Round Robin group have to say: